Living the Life of an Artist are thoughts and life happenings that surround me as continual questions, self-doubt, and distractions (okay and perhaps down right laziness) get in the way of being creative.
I want to explore this aspect of being creative. What happens when life gets in the way? How do we move past the self doubt?

Thursday, April 30, 2009

I found this article really interesting and I've responded in the end. Forgive any faux pas for reprinting...

How Full is Your Cup?By Michael Angier"Wisdom is meaningless until our own experience has given it meaning." Bergen EvansI was trying to counsel a young man the other day who was less than receptive to taking advice.He said he wanted help, but in fact he wanted someone to fix his problems. He said he wanted advice, but instead he wanted to be right.Isn't it interesting when people have all the answers and no money?Here was someone who was broke and had no job. His life wasn't working. You'd think he would be willing to learn, but sadly, this was not the case.I'm reminded of the story of the young mystic who traveled a great distance to study at the feet of a revered sage. When the young man arrived, he proceeded to try and impress the master with how much he knew and how wise he was.Instead of asking questions, the student went on about his beliefs and philosophies. The master listened quietly for a long while.Finally, the student stopped talking for a few moments. The master asked his guest if he would like some tea. "Why, yes," the young man replied.The old man began to pour the tea into his visitor's cup. But he didn't stop when the cup was full. He continued to pour as the tea over flowed into the saucer and then onto the table top where it began to run out on the floor."Stop!" the young man said. "The cup is full. Can't you see? It can hold no more.""It's true," the wise one said. "We cannot put more into an already full cup. And you are like that cup. Until you empty yourself of yourself, your fullness will prevent you from learning."To some extent, we're all a bit like the young man. We sometimes have to let go of what we think we know in order to embrace new ideas.We're always free to pick up our old beliefs and "knowings" at a later time, but we need to be open in order to look at things in a new way.We need to approach knowledge with the wonder and openness of a child. This way, we keep from missing important lessons and learning helpful life strategies.It's not easy, but we can learn to suspend our beliefs in order to listen with a clear and open mind. If we do, we won't be one of those people referred to when people use the cliché, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."Where is your cup too full? In what instances do you close yourself off because you "already know that?" It's easy to finish someone's thoughts in your head when they are speaking.But in doing so, you may very well miss what they have to offer because of the filters you've created.Watch yourself over the next week and look for times when your cup is too full to learn something new. It may surprise you.---------------------------Michael Angier, founder of SuccessNet.org, recently released the New SuccessNet Resource Book “Top Must-Have Tools, Products, Services and Resources for Running Your Business Effectively”http://successnet.org_________________________________________________________________________

Interesting, isn't it.

This has often been true for me, I will admit. Like when I first started hearing about EFT. People were saying how great it was, but I didn't want to hear it. There are times when I DO feel so full that I cannot take on any more. For me, what I have to do is work with what I have to determine what works and what doesn't and when I am not willing to do the work or practices, then I am not releasing anything to make room for some new stuff. BUT I recognize that about me.

I've not taken a lot of time to weed out the stuff that I don't need or use. Jeez, all those seminars and classes that I've taken and I have all this stuff inside me. I haven't dumped it all because a lot of it is good stuff, but then, I haven't really used it either. Maybe it is taking up space inside me and there's no room for anything new.

It's not like I can sit here and tell you everything I know. Gosh, I've forgotten most of everything I've ever learned. But if you started talking something similar, there would be something inside me saying, "Yeah, I know that," and a part of me would shut down to what you are telling me. My tea cup would be overflowing at the same time I would be shutting down. Does that make sense?

Hmmm, I wonder what all this means... and as I always admit, if I am unwilling to practice daily, how can I expect those I work with to develop a daily practice. I have learned some phenomenal healing techniques but if I don't practice I cannot teach and if I don't do that, then it is wasted and it stagnates inside blocking anything new that might come in.

There's this part of me, though, that fully believes I can take everything I've learned, pull up all that I really like and build it into a wonderful technique. Everything else I could let go. I'd like to use the Sedona Method with the EFT and meld it with the meditative movements of Tai Chi and the healing powers of hands on/massage. I would like to use aspects of other teachings to incorporate them into what I do... the Vulnerable Leadership Training, Art, Writing to Heal...but if I am not actually doing the practices myself, how can I work it with other people?

And then, on the other hand, when I am so full of all THIS stuff, how can I take on anything else? Then again, I have to be comfortable when face to face with others to be able to talk... walk my talk. Hmm, guess I should be doing a lot of tapping, ha ha.

At least I do have a goal for this year... learning to walk my talk, promoting myself, getting my work out there to make money and whether I am talking of the healing or the art, for me, it's one and the same.